Stormy Thoughts
by Nocte Draconis
Summary: Age of Dreams no. 3 - It was almost instinctual, Ace now recalled, how he pulled them in his embrace.  'And when did you intend to tell me that you were nearly electro executed' Makino's stern voice prevented Ace from hitting Luffy once more.


**Disclaimer: I own nothin'! Only the pestering plot chicks and OC's**

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><p><strong>WANTED! - In search for a beta for my brain fartsstories :D**

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><p><strong>Thanks for review, alerts and favorites to: AceandLuffyLover, DieEierVonSatanSatanBalls, nestealove<strong>

**There were two or three reviews and alerts that I accidentaly deleted while fumbling with the damn filters in gmail D: Now I don't know how to get 'em back T_T If any of you who reviewed the last story are reading this, please don't be shy and PM or mail me. I promise I'll be more carefull this time ^^'**

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><p>Mother nature decided to show her darker side today as a raging storm ravaged over Dawn Island. It hit the unexpected locals hard and sudden and they barely found shelter from the large water droplets in time. The afternoon turned into midnight darkness in mere minutes and only lightning provided outside light, but the visibility was still zilch. Those poor souls who couldn't find shelter on time were drenched to the bone in mere seconds.<p>

Luffy, Ace and Rena considered themselves of the lucky sort. They were high on Mt. Corvo, helping Dadan to refresh her stock on herbs and other stuff that could still be found in these last days of summer when she noticed the sudden change of wind and ushered them home. They were few meters from their tree house when the downpour began and was soon accompanied by loud thunder.

Makino watched from the doorstep of her bar, where most of the town's people, who found themselves near when the storm began, found shelter. The streets were already deserted and the wind picked up soon. Her thoughts wandered to Luffy and Ace, and especially Rena.

Because it seemed she was afraid of loud sounds.

Makino came onto the idea when she was putting dinner plates on their rightful place in the cupboards. She knew she shouldn't have used the old shaky chair to stand on, but it was rather troublesome to drag one from the bar, behind the counter and through the small door into the kitchen.

And it backfired.

Because one of the chair legs gave in and Makino plummeted to the ground, the plates crashing all around her.

Luckily, none hit her and she didn't cut herself.

But Rena who was helping her clean the kitchen was sitting on the ground, shaking like a leaf and covering her ears, while her eyes were tightly closed.

It took Makino quite some time to calm the poor girl. And now with thunder like this, she couldn't help but feel worried. She knew the boys were going to be just fine – they were living on Mt. Corvo for years and knew the place like the backside of their pockets.

But Rena was still getting used to her life here and Makino feared that even the slightest mistake could set them back to the very beginning, which would be a great shame after what Luffy managed already.

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><p>Currently, Ace was staring holes at the ceiling and asking himself how he got in this situation. Looking down as Rena shifted slightly after another close thunder echoed through the tree house, he once more reverted his gaze to the chaos outside when she slept on peacefully.<p>

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><p><em>Panting heavily, the trio watched the beginning of a raging thunderstorm starting over their home. If Dadan didn't notice the unusual and sudden change in wind on time, they'd be probably soaked and cold right now. Instead, though a little out of breath due to the fast sprint all the way from Mt. Corvo, they were sitting in their comfortably dry tree house. Just sitting and watching the chaos unfold outside.<em>

_It seemed that Rena's body was getting stronger with each day as she didn't erupt in a coughing fit after running so much. Or she just got used to it as Luffy tended to run and drag her along everywhere._

_All three of them flinched when a suspiciously close lightning flash was accompanied by a very loud thunder. Seeing as it was slowly getting late anyway, Ace ushered Luffy and Rena to sleep, much to the protest of the former as Luffy wouldn't let himself be treated like a child. A bickering ensued yet again but was interrupted just as fast by another thunder. _

_But boredom soon got the best of Luffy and he fell asleep while Ace opted for sitting near the window and watching the storm. And while Rena was also lying there, Ace knew she wasn't sleeping. She was shivering and he had a hunch that it wasn't just because the temperature fell a few degrees. _

_After a while he heard shuffling sounds and Luffy's voice._

''_Ace, I can't sleep,'' the boy sat up, his voice a little hushed. _

_Ace had to smirk at that as Luffy now sounded very much like a child ''I though you weren't scared of thunder?''_

''_I'm not!'', he huffed, ''I just don't like it'', he finished in a slightly hushed tone._

_Ace chuckled. ''Whatever you say. Why don't you sit near the window and watch? When you see the lightning you can anticipate the thunder and it's not so scary anymore''_

''_I told you I'm not scared!''_

_Still, when another thunder shook the tree house, he all but bolted towards Ace and sat on his side. _

_Luffy really wasn't afraid of thunder usually, but this storm was anything but. The lightning struck to close home for his liking and the accompanying thunder shook the tree house almost every time. Summer storms, especially at the ending warm months when summer turned slowly to autumn, were nothing unusual and the boys ended up soaked more than once in the past when a downpour would surprise them. _

_But it was never violent like this. _

_To prove his thoughts, a loud thump was heard from the outside when the howling wind rooted out a tree. Luffy shuffled closer to Ace almost unconsciously and the elder didn't seem to notice anyway. _

_What he did notice was how Rena sat up suddenly at the sound. She was starring at the outside world from her spot and Ace could see confusion and fear written all over her face. It was the first time he saw her express emotions so intensely and clearly. He couldn't help but find it ironic how showing fear made her appear so much more human in contrast to her usual ghostly indifference. _

_She winced and flinched when another thunder made itself known and, clutching the blanket closer to herself, watched the spot beside her that was up until now occupied by Luffy. Her eyes soon found him leaning on Ace's side and he could have sworn they looked pleading for a moment. _

_Sighing, Ace motioned her to come to him with his hand. _

_She only continued to sit there, starring at him, not really understanding._

_That was until lightning struck one of the trees barely meters from theirs. _

_And the thunder that came after it was deafening as well terrifying in magnitude._

_Rena screamed and sprang to her feet like someone stabbed her. Half stumbling over the blanket and half skidding, she landed on Ace's other side, burying her face in his side while small hands covered her ears._

_Luffy closed his eyes tightly and pulled himself now flush against Ace's warm body._

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><p>It was almost instinctual, Ace now recalled.<p>

How he draped one hand over each of them, pulling them closer in a half embrace.

He was used to his role of a big brother and Luffy made him worry sick more than once when he tended to get lost and disappear all alone in the Midway Forest. Sure, the little devil could take care of himself just as Ace can, but Midway Forest held creatures that even Ace had problems in dealing with.

Adjusting the blanket that he managed to reach when Rena half dragged it after her, he watched the two sleep peacefully now. It took them awhile to calm the nerves after that lightning hit suspiciously close to their home. Now that he thought about it, maybe a tree house wasn't such a good idea after all.

It could have been them that the lightning struck, and not the neighbor tree that was now scorched as the heavy rain took out the fire quite quickly.

His attention was back on Luffy when he snored loudly and he had to smirk at that.

No matter how much he sometimes hated to be the younger one, Luffy also sometimes downright enjoyed the safety that his older brother's embrace gave him.

And no matter how much older Ace is than him, he in turn enjoyed the comfort Luffy brought to him in this silent place. While the noisy bugger drove him insane most of the time, he was secretly thankful on Luffy's excessive enthusiasm.

It made Grey Terminal appear less lonely and empty and Ace knew that Luffy understood more than he showed. Just because he didn't say or comment anything, didn't mean he didn't know.

For such things words just weren't needed.

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><p>As the noon of a new day came by the storm lessened, and after a while it stopped completely. The first thing the trio did was go out and search for food as they skipped breakfast this morning and their dinner last night consisted of the berries they picked with Dadan, which was a fairly poor meal considering Luffy's and Ace's appetite. And Ace gave his share to Luffy and Rena anyways, so he was quite starving at the moment.<p>

Speaking of which, they would have to pick new ones. Dadan would make sure of it.

But it seemed they wouldn't need to hunt today as Luffy noticed a delicious scent coming from down the road and soon enough Makino appeared carrying four large bags with her.

Luffy stormed towards her, meeting her halfway and jumping around her like a little goat and sniffing at the bags and Ace gave him a thump on the head, thanking Makino at the same time and apologizing for his little brother's behavior.

''And how did you live through the storm?'', Makino asked while giggling at Luffy who was eating one of the many large stakes she brought. Knowing their appetite, she brought food to feed half the village.

And she still hoped it was enough.

Ace shrugged. ''It was boring as hell, but those two slept like logs anyway'', he motioned towards Luffy and Rena.

Makino's brows rose. ''Really? Even Rena?''

Ace's suspicion rose immediately at that question. ''Yeah. Why do you ask?''

Makino just shook her head. ''I thought Rena might have problems during the storm because of the thunder. I'm afraid she doesn't cope with loud sounds that well.'', she sighed.

''Fshe shcreameth fhen the liftning shuck the tree.'' Luffy muffled through a mouthful and when Makino gave him a confused look he swallowed hard, nearly chocking on the large bite.

''I said, she screamed when the lightning struck the tree next ours.''

''WHAT?'', Makino shot to her legs and looked frantically around, spotting the scorched, leafless tree behind the one the little tree house was on. How she didn't noticed it while walking towards them was beyond her.

''Luffy you idiot!'', Ace hissed while thumping him on the head again.

''Ow!'', Luffy hissed back, massaging the sore spot.

Seriously, if Ace kept this up his brain could take some serious damage.

''And when did you intend to tell me that you were nearly electro executed?'' Makino's stern voice prevented Ace from giving Luffy another thump, just for good measure.

''It's nothing, really'', Ace dismissed the whole thing with a wave of hand.

But it didn't sit well with Makino. She gave them the silent treatment through the whole meal and when she was departing they had to promise her they would come and stay with her next time.

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><p>The revelation of her fear didn't surprise Ace much. If anything, it was only added to the obvious distaste for the sea.<p>

She always kept a distance from the cliffs and especially the beach. If she was with Luffy or Ace she would still keep the farthest possible distance from the salty water.

This was probably understandable, considering in which state they found her.

Which made Ace wonder again about her past, as she still didn't give any indication of remembering who she was whatsoever.

Did her ship get caught into a storm and was wrecked?

Were there any other survivors? Because no one else was washed ashore after they found her.

What ship was she on – marine, argosy or maybe even a pirate ship?

If the later was true, was the ship sunk by the marine?

That particular question brought him back to _that_ moment – when a small ship was destroyed on its virgin voyage by a Noble, and only a tattered hat remained from their friend.

His jaw tightened as he greeted his teeth.

Now that he watched Rena closely, he could easily imagine her as a happy, smiling child, maybe even dense and enthusiastic like Luffy. Aboard a sailing ship, curious to explore the wide world.

And then the dreams destroyed in a blink of an eye, just because they were in someone's way.

As a pirate to be, Ace knew that it was a dangerous lifestyle. He could expect death at any moment, moreover because he was the son of _that_ man.

But dying without a purpose, without a reason, just because you were in someone's way – was not an option.

That's why he swore he would always encourage and protect those who followed their dreams, like he did.

And in turn he would make life miserable for those who stand for everything he is against.

His name will be heard all over the world – he will prove to them that Portgas D. Ace fears nothing and bows to no one.

Even if he sometimes feared for Luffy who persuaded the same dream, he would never held back his brother.

Because they swore to each other they would live a life without regrets.

They would live as they please.

Fears had no room there.

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><p><strong>I actually wrote this inspired by one huge storm we had during the summer. And <strong>_**bloody hell**_**, it was as if hell's gates opened over us O.o The window blinds were literary shaking with each thunder, not to mention we were without electricity for two days. Lucky me, I got a spare laptop battery or I would have **_**died**_** from boredom! XD At times like that most of my brain farts come to life as I have nothing else to do than to feed my little plot chicks X)**

**I hope you are enjoying this fics as much as I do :)**

**Se ya later folks!**

**N.D.**


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